oatmeal raisin cookie baked oatmeal

For the first time in recent memory, easing back into the “real world” after the holidays hasn’t been as gruesome as I expected it to be. After our fair share of family fun and impromptu New Year’s parties and various friends in town, I think these quiet January weekends are still suiting us all right. Any brief attacks of post-holiday bluesy-ness have been quelled by things like: spending a Saturday night giving B2 an impromptu man-makeover (new discovery: I love buzzcuts), eating leftover Christmas chocolate for breakfast, streaming Friends on Netflix, and ugly-crying super hard at the latest episode of Parenthood. (That show gets me every time. But at least bawling my eyes out is cathartic?)

Food-wise, this baked oatmeal was my other way of easing off the holiday excess into something a little gentler and a little more nourishing, but without going cold turkey (or, you know, cold salad). It’s cookies disguised as breakfast! Because I’ll never actually be ready to give up cookies and chocolate, I took all the flavors from my favorite oatmeal raisin cookies — plenty of cinnamon, a little bit of brown sugar, plump raisins (sorry to the raisin-haters!) — and put them into my new favorite way to eat oatmeal. Baked oatmeal has a dense, firm texture I can’t get enough of — a kind of comforting, resilient bite that drives away any thoughts of the watery gruel the kid in me used to abhor. Its stout substance reminds me a lot more of dessert than its just-add-water counterpart, but in truth it’s not any more indulgent. Once it cools, it’s sturdy enough to cut into slices, so it packs well and freezes even better — I reheat it with a splash of milk in a minute flat and it’s just as good at my desk as it was out of the oven. I love it with a generous dollop of Greek yogurt and an extra drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

Baked oatmeal is amazingly forgiving, so you can increase or decrease the ingredients to your own preference — there’s an extra egg in mine than most recipes call for, because I like the idea of a bit more protein and structure, and for lovers of other cookies, I’ve included a few notes on how you can swap out the add-ins below for a chocolate-chip version or cranberry-orange. It won’t be exactlylike eating a Christmas cookie, but it’s filling, wholesome, and even a little bit healthy, while still reminiscent of holiday cheer. Quick, warming, doable on a chilly January morning, but still a treat.

I'm one of those oddballs who loves oatmeal raisin cookies almost (almost!) more than chocolate chip, so I was head over heels for this. But if you'd prefer another cookie hiding in your oatmeal, this dish is fantastically customizable -- for a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie version, up the vanilla to 2 tsp, omit the cinnamon, and swap out the raisins for chocolate chips. For a cranberry-orange one, add one to two tablespoons of orange zest, half a teaspoon of almond extract, and swap out the raisins for dried cranberries. It would also work wonderfully with a diced apple, or pear, or pretty much anything you can imagine short of ground beef. It's kind of my dream breakfast.

2 tbsp butter (optional)

2 cups rolled oats (use certified gluten-free if needed)

3 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp granulated sugar

2-3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 cups whole milk (or non-dairy milk of choice -- any will work!)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup raisins (or more or less, to taste)

for serving:

yogurt

honey or maple syrup

cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Optional: Following a genius tip from JC, below, you can toast your oats first. In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oats and stir to coat evenly, then continue to cook, stirring every few seconds to prevent burning, until oats smell toasty, like popcorn. This should take only 2-3 minutes, but gives the oatmeal a deeper flavor and makes it taste a little more cookie-like, in my opinion. But totally okay to skip it if you're pressed for time! Otherwise, just mix together your oats, both sugars, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or 8x8-inch baking dish until well-combined. If using a baking dish, you may want to line it with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

In a bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla, and eggs. You can also add a tablespoon or two of melted butter here, if you'd like. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and give the dish a shake or stir it to evenly moisten. Scatter the raisins evenly across the mixture and stir again to incorporate.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden on the edges. Oatmeal should still be soft in the center when removed but will set as it cools.

Everything in baked oatmeal is pretty loosey-goosey. You can increase or decrease the amount of milk to your preference -- I have used up to 2 1/2 cups milk with good results, and have seen recipes that call for less. You can also use one egg instead of two or egg whites if you're concerned about cholesterol. And, of course, you can feel free to up the sugar for a sweeter post-holiday treat -- or decrease it if you're already just that zen.

YUM. I love baked oatmeals. Two things that I like to do with oatmeal are toast the oats in butter beforehand (a trick from Whole Grain Mornings, it makes the house smell like shortbread) and plump the raisins in vanilla extract before adding to the oatmeal. Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try it! 🙂

We never get raisins in cookies down under, so I am full believer in throwing them into a oatmeal bake. I been a fan of wet oatmeal but bake ones are my latest breakfast fave. I like to do mine is little skillets and serve them as a Faux dessert to my family. They never know the difference if I put the word cookie in it! Love everything about this!

Amazingness! I’m still struggling getting back into the groove and this grey January weather hasn’t helped. This oatmeal sounds perfect and thank you for the little “extra” bit on how to convert these to just chocolate chips. Because the raisins would get me death ray glares in my house. Ha!

HAHAha death ray glares!!! Ever since we ran out of Christmas chocolate I’ve been snacking on chocolate chips straight out of the bag…oops. I think I need to put some in my oatmeal next time too! Thanks so much for stopping by, friend 🙂

Baked oatmeal? I had no idea this was a thing! It’s January, so I keep trying to persuade myself that porridge is really warm and comforting, not sloppy and awful, but so far no luck. This looks like the perfect solution!

and yes, oh yes, to this lovely breakfast! i love your subtle ease back into the grind of it all, especially with a skillet bake – everything always looks so much better when baked in a skillet! and i’m so glad you two are getting back into the swing of things after all the business of the holiday season! xoxo!

Ah, the magic of baked oatmeal! A true winter breakfast favorite. I also love your idea of cutting it into slices and reheating it later! Who would have guessed that baked oatmeal actually makes a damn good breakfast to go? Certainly not me.
P.S. I like your new TRB logo design!

Oh I’m decidedly obsessive over that blueberry suggestion!! I can’t wait to try that. And heeelll yea fist bump for buzzcuts! Thanks so much for stopping by, Laura :):) I hope you’re well and staying warm up north!

OMG Cynthia!!! THIS. For breakfast. Tomorrow.
Or I could make it for the weekend and eat it warm, then save the leftovers in the freezer (thawed oatmeal is not the best, but I’ve done it before and I love it all the same)
I also love to plump up raisins in rum! AND I made vanilla infused alcohol and it’s BEGGING to be used here! 😀

Oh I’m NEVER ready to give up cookies and chocolate, any why should we be?! I do think that adding oatmeal and getting a cookies for breakfast situation going makes that transition a bit easier, right?!

So gorg, as always. How did you know we all still wanted to keep up the eating-holiday-cookies-for-breakfast trend? Oh yeah, because you’re brilliant. I’ve had some meh run-ins with baked oatmeal, but your amazing description of the taste makes me want to try again, stat. Thanks for another brilliant recipe!!!

oats make me feel like death but i love the idea of a big, baked, cookie-style breakfast! ahh. i wonder if flaked/rolled something-else would be an adequate substition here. quinoa? that’s all I can think of, outside of the gluten grains.

also, do you love touching the buzzcuts or giving the buzzcuts? i have been cutting my partner’s hair lately and i find it meditative. we end up singing songs to the drone of the buzzy trimmer. also, the tiny hairs feel so fun when you run your palm along their head. i kind of want to do it to my head, too.

I must admit I’m a little jealous that you’re easing into the new year so gracefully! For me, it’s been a little more of a forcibly dragging while kicking and screaming than an easing, BUT cookie-fied oatmeal makes back-to-work life SO much more tolerable. I have been LOVING baked oatmeal this month and this one is so exception. Also, you’re a genius for adding in cookie swap-ins. Perfection, as always!

Cookies for breakfast! Now that is the right way to bring in the new year. I know not everyone loves raisins, but I truly do and this is speaking directly to my heart. I love the idea of a quick reheat with a splash of milk and your yogurt/honey topping. YUM.

Baked oatmeal makes an amazing breakfast. I really like it for dessert too – the shape always reminds me of some sort of cookie or tort. I love the idea of putting a cookie spin on baked oatmeal and making it even more indulgent (although not any less healthy). So yummy!

I know I’ve probably said it like a million zillion times but I love your styling SO MUCH. the textures and the way your eye moves across each image and the moody lighting…. so many heart eyes. and baked oatmeal YES! why have i not done this yet this winter? ima get on it. with this recipe. in the AM <3

YES! I love everything about this post and can’t wait to try this version of baked oatmeal. I’m a believer! Your description is spot on. These photos are so stunning; especially loving that plated shot. <3

I’m not ready to give up cookies either, so I LOVE this dish, Cynthia! Any excuse to eat cookies for breakfast is right up my alley – I especially love that you made it up in a cast iron skillet. Also – you just made me SO EXCITED because I didn’t realize Parenthood was back! Here’s to a few tears tonight;)

I love your photography! My diet and schedule does not allow me to make everything that I see in the blogs I read, but I am still so inspired all of the time by the talent of fellow bloggers. You take some beautiful photos! One of my favorites, for sure.

I regularly make a big pan of this for my family, and we eat it two mornings. I use 6 cups of oats, but the same amount of milk as your recipe. The other difference is that I use 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce in it as well. I might try your version, though because I’d gladly cut out the oil if I can! The last time I made it, I did cranberry and orange zest…highly recommend it! Another fave of ours is to put in a cup of purreed pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices.

Oh YES! This is exactly what I was thinking about when I was making my baked oatmeal. And exactly how I think about baked oatmeal compared to the water-y stuff.. Yours looks absolutely stunning. Love everything that’s in there (no raising-hater at all over here!). And your quiet January weekends sound comfy and lovely. Wish mine were like yours!